Author: Mezie Ethelbert

Reading Time: 4 minutes Earth retaining structures are used to retain earth. They are highly applicable in Civil Engineering in the areas of Complete design of retaining walls begins with the determination of shear forces and bending moments acting on the structure through the analysis of lateral pressure from soils retained by the structure. With the shear forces and bending moments, the full structural design is carried out. Types of retaining walls Find HERE deeper explanation and visual images of listed types of retaining walls and more Principles of the design of retaining wall Before the actual design of the retaining wall, the soil…

Reading Time: 4 minutes Whenever real estate is mentioned, many erroneously believe that it is a big man’s business. I was in this class before I was tutored on how one can earn from real estate and have landed properties without having millions. In a previous post titled: Starting a real estate business in Nigeria: Important tips, I showed different ways by which one can earn from real estate. True, real estate development requires millions but as an affiliate marker or real estate agent, you can begin your journey to becoming a developer. Everyone aspires to own a land and virtually everyone is in…

Reading Time: 6 minutes What is Real Estate? Real estate is a class of real property that includes land and anything natural or man-made (buildings, water, trees etc) permanently attached to it. It is different from personal properties of people such as vehicles, furniture, jewellery that are not permanently attached to it. It is this permanency that gives real estate its value. Secondly, it is not in production such that there is unlikelihood of extreme volatility. At present, the value of real estate in Nigeria is $56 billion and total commission payable is 10% of this, which is $ 5.6 billion. This is a…

Reading Time: 7 minutes Introduction The use of rammed earth in construction dates back to centuries in different parts of the world and it is commonly known by the French name ‘Pise’. According to Ciancio and Becket (2014), there are many thousands of historic rammed earth structures around the world, some of them dating from 1500 BC such as the great wall of China. These constructions which are usually known to be cheap and affordable can still be visible to present which buttresses their sustainability. According to Carnivell et al (2020), heritage values, bioconstruction, and sustainability are three interrelated factors that make rammed earth…

Reading Time: 5 minutes Most soils used in road construction works are borrowed materials from borrow pit. Most times, these are lifted and brought to site and spread and sprinkled with water, then compacted. Without considering much whether the soil was soaked with the required quantity of water or weather there was uniform soaking of the soil, the relative density test is often the only tool used to access the condition of the compacted soil. The ability to achieve the required maximum dry density of the soil in the field compaction is dependent on the ability to moisten the soil uniformly at the optimum…

Reading Time: 5 minutes Discrimination between Degree certificates obtained from Universities and Diplomas obtained from Polytechnics has been a thickly contested issue in Nigeria. In most cases, University graduates are preferred over Polytechnic graduates and most times paid higher than them. This discrepancy has made Polytechnics be kept in disagreed and often attended by those who have failed several times to secure admission to the University. Due to this reason, you would hardly find multi-national companies’ scholarship adverts in Polytechnics because they probably have come to believe that less bright students school in Polytechnics and these are not whom they want but it is…

Reading Time: 4 minutes Planning for water use is very important in any society because the enormous need of water in different activities of man. The world has about 70% of its space occupied by water but majority of these are oceans and seas which are salt water. The treatment of these water is usually very costly. A group of ancient time sailors who sailed through endless seas once cried, ‘water water everywhere, but no water to drink’. The fresh water bodies suitable for human use are scarce. Thus, there is very great need to plan water use. This planning is necessary for the…

Reading Time: 4 minutes Three important documents are required for effective administration of contract works in Nigeria. These are: 1. Conditions of contract: These are terms and conditions that set the rights and obligations of the contracting parties, when a contract is awarded or entered into. 2. Working drawings: These are drawings that provide dimensioned, graphical information that can be used by a contractor to construct the works or by suppliers to fabricate or assemble components of the works. Working drawings may include civil drawings, structural drawings, architectural drawings, mechanical drawings etc. 3. Specifications: These describe the work, materials and products required by a…